Smoke rises amid destroyed buildings following an Israeli shelling within the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
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Leo Correa/AP
U.S. particular envoy to the Center East Steve Witkoff arrived within the southern Gazan metropolis of Rafah Friday, the place he inspected an help distribution middle operated by the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF).
Witkoff was accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who posted concerning the go to on X, saying they’d gone to Gaza to “be taught the reality” concerning the help website, including: “GHF delivers a couple of million meals a day, an unimaginable feat!”
However the worldwide group has criticized the meals help system vociferously, saying folks in Gaza are ravenous and have been shot attempting to get meals.
Witkoff and Huckabee would temporary President Trump “instantly after their go to to approve a remaining plan for meals and help distribution into the area,” mentioned White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and additional particulars on future meals distribution mechanisms can be revealed “as soon as that plan is accepted and agreed on” by the president.
Witkoff landed in Israel earlier this week to fulfill with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as U.N.-backed meals safety specialists reported {that a} famine was now unfolding in Gaza thanks partly to Israeli restrictions on help coming into the territory.
On the identical time different world leaders have known as on Israeli authorities to permit unrestricted help flows to stop additional civilian deaths. Not solely are every day deaths linked to hunger persevering with in Gaza, say native medics and worldwide help teams, however the U.N. reported that since Might greater than 800 folks have been killed whereas attempting to entry meals from distribution websites run by the GHF.
FILE – President-elect Donald Trump listens to Steve Witkoff communicate throughout a information convention at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Seashore, Fla.
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Evan Vucci/AP
Hamas-run well being authorities within the Palestinian territory mentioned Thursday that at the very least 91 Palestinians had been killed, and round 600 wounded, whereas making an attempt to entry meals and help over simply the previous 24 hours. On Friday morning, much more Palestinians got here beneath hearth from Israeli troops at one website managed by the GHF, in line with NPR Information native producer in Gaza, Anas Babar.
The GHF was established to bypass the United Nations, and Israel has insisted on its continued operation, blaming Hamas for the violence that has typically surrounded the group’s websites.
However its stance on meals help restrictions has prompted France, the U.Okay. and Canada to announce plans to acknowledge a Palestinian state, with Britain saying this might occur in September until Israel modifications course. It is one thing Israel’s international minister, Gideon Sa’ar, insisted at a press convention this week would go away Hamas in energy, and “ain’t gonna occur.”
The U.S. State Division has mentioned it would impose visa-related sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, headquartered within the West Financial institution, because of its help for circumstances in opposition to Israel tied to the Gaza battle which might be being heard at worldwide courts.
The Palestinian Authority has been pushing for higher worldwide recognition of Palestinian statehood, as a pathway to a future two-state resolution involving Israelis and Palestinians.
The escalating international and home outrage over Israel’s insurance policies concerning meals shortages in Gaza has prolonged to a number of different European nations, and even to the U.S. Senate, the place a majority of Democrats this week voted to dam gross sales of particular American weapons to Israel.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israeli troops that keep a safety presence close to the handful of GHF websites in Gaza of finishing up struggle crimes throughout their actions in opposition to Palestinian help seekers. NPR can’t affirm this report by HRW.
The rights group’s report, revealed Friday, mentioned the “dire humanitarian state of affairs is a direct results of Israel’s use of hunger of civilians as a weapon of struggle—a struggle crime—in addition to Israel’s continued intentional deprivation of help and fundamental providers, which quantities to the crime in opposition to humanity of extermination, and acts of genocide.”
Belkis Wille, affiliate disaster and battle director at HRW, mentioned within the report that “Israeli forces should not solely intentionally ravenous Palestinian civilians, however they’re now gunning them down virtually day by day as they desperately search meals for his or her households.”
Palestinians mourn a person killed whereas attempting to succeed in help vans coming into northern Gaza by way of the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza Metropolis, Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
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Jehad Alshrafi/AP
The help system put in place by contractors on the GHF, backed by the U.S., was “flawed” and “militarized,” Wille mentioned, and had “turned help distributions into common massacre.”
President Donald Trump mentioned he hopes Israel will make sure the supply of meals to ravenous Palestinians and stop help diversion by Hamas.
In an interview with NBC, Trump described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “a reliable particular person” and mentioned his administration needed “to verify folks get fed.” He emphasised that “good administration” would stop the theft of help, including, “Hopefully, the Israelis will present that.”
When questioned by reporters about Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza this week as genocide, Trump responded, “It is horrible what’s occurring there. It is a horrible factor. Individuals are very hungry.”
He reiterated his declare that the U.S. had offered thousands and thousands in help to the GHF, however questions its efficacy.
“It is a disgrace as a result of I do not see the outcomes of it. We gave it to individuals who, in principle, are watching over it pretty intently. We needed Israel to observe over it. A part of the issue is that Hamas is taking the cash they usually’re taking the meals,” Trump mentioned.
Emily Feng in Tel Aviv and Anas Baba in Gaza contributed reporting.
